NICOSIA, Sept 17 (Askume) – Cyprus will support a multi-billion euro transmission cable to link Europe’s power grid with the Middle East, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The so-called Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project aims to link Greece’s transmission lines to Crete, Cyprus and eventually Israel, costing 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion). In the case of Cyprus, the cable is estimated to cost €1.9 billion.
The government decided to support the project at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The extent of Cyprus’ involvement is unclear and the sources said a decision would be made later.
The presidential palace announced that Cyprus Energy Minister George Papanastasiou would make a statement later on Tuesday.
When completed, it will be the world’s longest (1,240 kilometers) and deepest (3,000 meters) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) tunnel. The European Union has offered to fund part of it, which is currently expected to be completed around 2030.
The ambitious plan involves a complex patchwork of overlapping jurisdictional claims between Greece, Cyprus and Mediterranean rival Turkey.
Cyprus had sought clarification on how much it would pay for the project and what would happen if “geopolitical risks” arise – potential objections from Turkey – leading to delays and potential additional costs.
“We are talking about international waters, so this is where countries can lay pipes and cables and so on,” said Harry Tzimitras, an academic and director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre, who has done extensive research on the subject.
“But Turkey claims certain areas as its continental shelf, and in that case, Turkey argues that prior consent is required,” he said.
Turkey sent naval forces to track a ship carrying out cable-related survey work near Greek islands in June, and has occasionally intercepted ships carrying out gas survey missions offshore Cyprus.
